Minds, and form the character of their young disciples,
which no accidents of life can ever afterwards remove or alter. Many of
these little schools I visited in my progress through the country, and
observed with pleasure the great docility and submissive deportment of
the children, and heartily wished they had had better instructors, and a
purer religion.
With the Mahomedan faith is also introduced the Arabic language, with
which most of the Foulahs have a slight acquaintance. The native tongue
abounds very much in liquids, but there is something unpleasant in the
manner of pronouncing it. A stranger, on hearing the common conversation
of two Foulahs, would imagine that they were scolding each other. Their
numerals are these: -
One ......... _Go_.
Two ......... _Deeddee_.
Three ......... _Tettee_.
Four ......... _Nee_.
Five ......... _Jouee_.
Six ......... _Jego_.
Seven ......... _Jedeeddee_.
Eight ......... _Je Tettee_.
Nine ......... _Je Nee_.
Ten ......... _Sappo_.
The industry of the Foulahs, in the occupations of pasturage and
agriculture, is everywhere remarkable. Even on the banks of the Gambia,
the greater part of the corn is raised by them; and their herds and
flocks are more numerous and in better condition than those of the
Mandingoes; but in Bondou they are opulent in a high degree, and enjoy
all the necessaries of life in the greatest profusion. They display great
skill in the management of their cattle, making them extremely gentle by
kindness and familiarity. On the approach of night, they are collected
from the woods, and secured in folds, called korrees, which are
constructed in the neighbourhood of the different villages. In the middle
of each korree is erected a small hut, wherein one or two of the herdsmen
keep watch during the night, to prevent the cattle from being stolen, and
to keep up the fires which are kindled round the korree to frighten away
the wild beasts.
The cattle are milked in the mornings and evenings; the milk is
excellent, but the quantity obtained from any one cow is by no means so
great as in Europe. The Foulahs use the milk chiefly as an article of
diet, and that not until it is quite sour. The cream which it affords is
very thick, and is converted into butter by stirring it violently in a
large calabash. This butter, when melted over a gentle fire, and freed
from impurities, is preserved in small earthen pots, and forms a part in
most of their dishes; it serves likewise to anoint their heads, and is
bestowed very liberally on their faces and arms.
But although milk is plentiful, it is somewhat remarkable that the
Foulahs, and indeed all the inhabitants of this part of Africa, are
totally unacquainted with the art of making cheese. A firm attachment to
the customs of their ancestors makes them view with an eye of prejudice
every thing that looks like innovation.
